Plastic or paper bags? Cream or no cream in your coffee? Leaded or unleaded gas? (Unless you’re past a certain age, this last reference may be lost.) Today’s post is all about dichotomy. And cookie bars! As I was mixing and layering dough for a Labor Day weekend BBQ, I thought about how different these two featured cookie bar recipes are.
S’Mores Bars are a stratified take on an camping quintessential. My recipe is a cinch to throw together (no campfire necessary) and will disappear like rising campfire smoke through pine trees! Lemon Trio Bars, on the other hand, are more refined and require some pre-planning. But with patience, these laminated lemon bars are completely worth the effort!
If you’ve been following this goofy gobbledygook, you already read about Son B and I dragging ourselves up a mountain peak in Arizona’s Picacho Peak State Park and paying to feed mooching animals. That post also featured a delightful, delicious recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Bread with Toasted Pecan-Coconut Topping. I won’t recount this epic adventure (rated DIFFICULT and not for inexperienced hikers), because you can read it here. But I will liken that lengthy, planning-required hike to making these Lemon Trio Bars. The taste is spectacular at the end of the baking (and waiting) process!
What you didn’t read about in my previous post was the expedition getting home. Flying standby, thanks to Son A, had many advantages…until we couldn’t catch a flight home. Postponing our return flight by 1 day, and changing airports, turned into an extra 4 day excursion, taking us to Tucson and Chicago. It did give us the opportunity, however, to tour Saguaro National Park and its amazing towering cacti in a rented Expedition!
After recovering from Picacho Peak, our blistered feet were pretty boot-shy at the mention of hiking. But we were in the Sonoran Desert in a park full of towering thorns and more of those gosh-darn hiking trails. To leave without traipsing along a dusty path was out of the question. A nice Visitor Center volunteer helped us decide on a meandering path our tired tootsies could tolerate–the Cactus Wren-Encinas-Manville Loop Trail in Saguaro’s Western District. It was rated as “relatively easy” with only 1 hiking boot on the park hiking map. Picacho Peak’s “Advanced”, not for “inexperienced hikers” warning would have garnered 3 hiking boots by this rating. (Photo credit: nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/maps)
Signal Hill, at the start of the Cactus Wren hike, contains prehistoric petroglyphs, dating back almost 8,000 years. It’s an excellent place to get up close and personal with ancient rock art. More modern history is throughout Saguaro NP, with 19th century copper, silver and lead mining operations, desert homesteaders, and the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.
The Cactus Wren-Encinas-Manville Loop Trail was a series of well-trodden trails over gently sloping hills through the cactus forest. On this roughly 4-mile long hike, Son B was leaving me in the dust. This wasn’t hard to do, since I was lolly-gagging and looking at all of the interesting cacti!
So there it is. A tale of two completely different trails from one serendipitous adventure. And now the recipes for two decadent cookie bars!
S’Mores Bars put all the flavors of camping favorite into one easy bite–a graham-sugar cookie crust, a luscious sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chip layer, and gooey marshmallow morsels. Just layer and bake to golden-brown goodness. S’More-fully simple! Check out my other S’Mores inspired recipes:
- S’Mores Cookies
- S’Mores Pie
Lemon Trio Bars combine shortbread, zesty cheesecake and lemon curd into one delectable layered delight! Timing is key to serving this cookie confection on time. The powder sugar based shortbread crust requires time in the chill chest before its first bake. Just mix and press into the bottom of a 8-inch pan, lined cross-ways with parchment. Using parchment paper isn’t required, but it makes removing, cutting, and serving the bars easier. You can also spray the pan with baking spray.
While the crust is chilling out and cooling down from a pre-bake, the lemon cheesecake and lemon curd ingredients are prepped. The cheesecake layer is tastefully simple–cream cheese, sugar, an egg, lemon extract or oil, and fresh lemon zest. If you opt for lemon oil, start with a 1/2 tsp. amount and gradually increase for stronger tastes.
Like a previous Luscious Lemon Curd post, the citrus sunshine in this recipe uses the standard elements–fresh lemon juice and zest, sugar, egg yolks and butter ingredients, but with the addition of water and cornstarch. The curd is ready when your finger leaves a clean path across the back of a coated spoon.
Layer the chilled cheesecake and lemon curd layers over the pre-baked shortbread crust, bake again, and give it time to chillax before cutting. Similar to the Picacho Peak hike, Lemon Trio Bars take time to prep, but guests will sing its accolades after one bite. The big question now is which cookie bar will you make first?! Enjoy!
S’Mores Bars
S’Mores aren’t just for tenting trips anymore. The flavors found in the classic camping treat are in this one easy to make bar. Graham cookie crust, luscious chocolate, and gooey marshmallows baked to golden perfection. Just like campfire smoke, these S’Mores Bars disappear fast!
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: One 9-X13-inch pan; Approximately 16 to 24 bars 1x
Ingredients
1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
1–1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (kosher or table)
2–1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1–3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, finely crushed
2 cups chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet) + 1/4 to 1/3 cup additional chips for topping*
1–14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
5 cups miniature marshmallows
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Using a hand-held or standing mixer, cream together the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at time. Blend in vanilla. Add baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour to egg mixture until evenly combined. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and mix well. Pat 2/3 of the dough evenly into the bottom of the greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Reserve the remaining dough for topping.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Microwave for 1 minute on high. Stir until smooth. (If needed, microwave mixture in 30-second increments and stir afterwards until melted.) Pour the melted chocolate mixture and spread to the edges of the pan over the graham dough layer.
Top the chocolate layer with the miniature marshmallows. Press down slightly. Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/3 cup additional chocolate chips over the marshmallows. Drop the remaining graham cookie dough by spoonfuls evenly over the marshmallow layer. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting and serving.
Notes
*Any type or combination of chocolate chips can used.
Lemon Trio Bars
Lemon Trio Bars are laminated sunshine, with crisp buttery shortbread, creamy cheesecake and brilliant lemon curd in every bite! Shine on!
- Prep Time: About 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: About 1 Hour
- Total Time: About 1-1/2 Hours + Refrigeration Time
- Yield: One 8-X8-inch pan; About 12 to 16 Bars 1x
Ingredients
For Shortbread Crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt (table or kosher)
For Cheesecake Layer:
1–8 oz. block cream cheese, at room temperature
1–1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp. lemon extract*
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
For Lemon Curd Layer:
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 to 3 lemons)**
2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
Place strips of parchment paper, cross-ways, to line the bottom, sides and over the edges of an 8-X8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
To Prepare Shortbread Crust:
Using a hand-held or standing mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar until combined well. Add vanilla, all-purpose flour, and salt. Mix on low until well combined. Evenly press the dough into the bottom of the parchment lined baking pan. Dock the top of the dough with a fork. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake shortbread crust for 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature.
To Prepare Cheesecake Layer:
Using a hand-held or standing mixer, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, lemon extract and lemon zest until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble bars.
To Prepare Lemon Curd Layer:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and granulated sugar. Over low heat, whisk in water and lemon juice. Slowly increase the heat to medium temperature, stirring constantly. Cook until lemon mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. A finger run across the spoon back should leave a clean line in the curd. Remove curd from heat. Stir in butter and lemon zest. Let cool.
Assembling the Layers:
Spread the chilled cheesecake mixture evenly over the cooled shortbread crust. Top the cheesecake layer evenly over the lemon curd mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.
Notes
*Lemon oil can be used in place of lemon extract. The flavor will be more concentrated, so start with 1/2 tsp. and increase based on flavor preference.
**Bottled lemon juice can be substituted if necessary.
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